Eleven people were arrested Friday after attempting to block entry to Travis Air Force Base during an anti-war protest.
According to Fairfield Police Department officials, a group of about 20 people gathered near the intersection of Air Base Parkway and Parker Road at approximately 6 a.m. that morning.
“The group initially stayed on the shoulder and center median while bringing attention to their cause,” read a release issued by the department. “Just after 7 a.m., members of the group entered the crosswalk across Air Base Parkway and remained there, blocking traffic attempting to enter the main gate of the base.”
At that time, officials said additional group members also blocked the hospital gate entrance to the base.
The group stopped traffic traffic for approximately five minutes. After protesters were warned by police to get out of the roadway, those who did not respond were arrested.
Those arrested and booked into the Solano County Jail on suspicion of failure to obey an officer and delaying traffic are:
Samuel Cree, 27; Blaine Jackson, 23; Eaen Elliott, 19; Yulissa Sanchez 22; Rayna Velasquez, 30; Nora Dondero 26; Giselle Cisneros 23; Jarvey Resa, 26; Vanessa Thil 32, and Dafne Ramirez, 28.
According to Fairfield PD officials, Travis Air Force Base Security Forces discovered the road to the South Gate had been also blocked with a large amount of junk furniture and nail clusters fashioned to flatten tires of cars driving on the roadway just prior to this protest at the Main Gate.
“There was an anti-war banner affixed to the junk blocking the road,” read the release. “Suisun City Police shut down Petersen Road for approximately one hour while the debris and nails were cleaned up.”
This protest comes just months after another protest was prompted outside Travis Air Force Base Dec. 28 to draw attention to the base’s active involvement in shipping military supplies directly to Israel, and “contributing to the ongoing genocide in Gaza,” according organizers of that rally.
In both cases, base officials were made aware in advance that there was a protest planned with a stated goal “to shut down all gates into and out of the base.”